Random Story Ideas: The Balanced Force
by Snowy Mountain
Summary: Some of my unused stories ideas that I haven't decided to continue or not. What if Anakin made another choice other than to follow the Jedi's path or fall into darkness with the Sith?


**A/N: **The moderators at FF seems to really cracking down on things and even my Random Stories file was threatened to being automatically deleted because I think some of my stories came from different genres or something. They restored it, but I've decided to separate the various stories ideas into their proper slots, just in case.**  
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**Disclaimer:** Star Wars_ and the related characters belong to George Lucas and not me. This story also draws upon the events of _Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith_ and the video game _Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic _in case you were interested._

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"**Savior, conqueror, hero, villain. You were all things, Revan … and yet you are nothing. In the end, you belong to neither the Light nor the Darkness. You will forever stand alone…"**

—Darth Malak to Darth Revan  
_ Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic_

"**You were the Chosen One! You were supposed to destroy the Sith, not join them! Bring Balance to the Force, not leave it in Darkness…" **

—Obi-Wan Kenobi to Anakin Skywalker  
_ Star Wars III: The Revenge of the Sith_

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**The Balanced Force**

Chapter 1: _Forging a Path_

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**The Jedi Temple  
Coruscant**

Anakin grit his teeth and slammed his fist on the wall of the Jedi Temple. _Padmé!_ He mentally wailed as Mace Windu strode away, his face grave and intent for his coming confrontation with a Sith Lord.

A flattened, almost artificial voice startled him. "Your thoughts betray you."

Anakin whirled around surprised. He must have been greatly distracted to have someone sneak up on him.

An old droid was standing there and held out a small device in one claw-like hand with a small flickering hologram of a man floating above it. There was a flash and the holographic image enlarged itself so that it was now a life-sized holographic image of a masked humanoid was standing before Anakin. He tilted his head, almost mockingly as he acknowledged Anakin. "Greetings, Gray Knight."

Anakin Skywalker frowned as he studied the humanoid being with the strange armor. "Who are you?"

"I am Revan … or as some have referred to me as _**Darth**_ Revan."

Anakin tried not to recoil from the image. _A Sith? Another one?_

"No. I am not a Jedi. I am not a Sith. I am both and neither. Neither Light nor Dark. Simply … Grey. As you."

"I am a Jedi!"

"Not as those pacifistic, mush-minded conformists would like you to be," Revan snorted and sarcastically recited, "A Jedi must always be mindful of his actions; a Jedi must always be respectful and obedient; a Jedi must always, _**always**_ follow the enlightened and infinitely wiser and more knowledgeable Jedi Council who never ever make mistakes or misjudgments."

Considering that he had reprimanded repeatedly for impulsive behavior, an impudent and disrespectful attitude, and had entertained equally sarcastic thoughts of his own about the Council; Anakin had to admit that he wasn't exactly a … traditional Jedi. Then again, from what he had gleaned over the years, neither had been Qui-Gon Jinn been exactly what many would call a traditional Jedi Master.

"I see it," Revan almost whispered. "You find yourself plagued with Darkness. Anger. Aggression. Hatred. Tempered with the Light of Love, Compassion, and Forgiveness. Not entirely Dark. Not entirely Light. Merely … Gray."

Anakin shook his head, feeling the pounding in his head lessening, his surging emotions beginning to taper off. "Be at peace. Be calm," the holographic image intoned with a wave of his hand. "Sidious wanted you upset and excitable. He used the Dark Side to cloud your thoughts."

Anakin suddenly realized with a flash of insight that this man was using the Force on him! He was countering Sidious' Dark Side powers. He took a deep breath, forcing calm. And his thoughts were becoming focused. Clearer. Sharper. "The visions I've been experiencing…" he murmured.

"A lie."

Anakin pressed his clenched hand against his forehead as understanding began to flood him. "The—the Clone Wars … all those deaths…"

"A sham. All instigated by Sidious to deliberately weaken the Jedi and strengthen his own political power."

"Gods!" Anakin roared. "Count Dooku—!"

"His second Apprentice after Darth Maul and the supposed enemy you railed against while Sidious plotted in the shadows, tugging on the strings of both Republic and Separatists. Dooku expected Sidious to kill you in order to save him—and naturally Sidious used that moment to betray him."

Anakin was reeling as the bits and pieces were slotting into place and the sheer enormity of the whole scheme lay before him.

"Then—even the Battle of Naboo—!"

"The first stage in his great performance to seize absolute power," Revan confirmed. "He has used you and the entire Republic, he has stoked hatred and fear in you to seduce you to the Dark Side. Except for one thing that prevented your fall. Your wife."

"But—"

"Sidious did not know of your attachment to your wife before. But he does now. And he intends to use that to his advantage. To tempt you to forsaking the Order out of love for her. To unbalance you. To make you vulnerable to him."

And then the image paused for a long moment before it leaned forward and hissed, "To _**break **_you and the Republic."

Anakin felt lost. _What should he do? He needed to talk to Padmé! Or Obi-Wan! What should he do?_

"Do what you believe is right. No more. No less," a new voice spoke solemnly.

Anakin whirled around to see a ghostly apparition stride through the landing gear of a Jedi starfighter as though it wasn't even there. He pulled back the hood of his robes, revealing a bearded visage that he had not seen for so many years.

"Qui-Gon!" Anakin staggered at the sight of the long dead Jedi Master. "H—how are you here?" he whispered.

Qui-Gon smiled. "All things are possible with the Force," he said lightly before adopting a more serious mien. "I believe in you Anakin. I always have. You have accomplished great things. But I believe that the deeds that you will do in the future will make all that you have done pale in comparison. You are the Chosen One. You are the one who will bring Balance to the Force. Neither the Jedi nor the Sith are truly whole. They are incomplete. Imperfect. Unbalanced. Only by encompassing both can you find Balance, not at the price of focusing on one by forsaking the other."

Revan broke into the conversation. "The Sith are right about one thing. The Jedi have become stagnant and arrogant. They have kept the peace for thousands of years and remained unchallenged. Until now."

Qui-Gon shook his head mournfully. "Even now, they believe that simply by defeating Sidious that they can make everything right. The Republic has been crumbling for decades. It may have lasted for your lifetime and perhaps your children's lifetime, but probably no longer after that. All Sidious has done is accelerate the downward slide of decline."

"The Jedi has done what they can, but all that they have managed to do is keep the diseased and dying beast stumbling forward. But not even they can keep it alive much longer. And certainly not anymore with their numbers so depleted—which is no doubt what Sidious intended," Revan intoned solemnly.

Anakin closed his eyes. Bitterly, he realized that he had no real love for the Republic. A corrupt government that turned a blind eye towards the Hutts, towards slavery, towards the Outer Rim, and towards the poor and disenfranchised. No, he loved his wife. He loved his unborn child. He loved Obi-Wan and the Jedi. They were the ones that he was loyal to. The ones that he was fighting for. Risking his life for. The ones that were worth everything to him.

He opened his calm and clear eyes and gazed at the two ghostly figures. One shrouded in darkness, the other almost blinding in the light. He saw the path that lay before him. Not laid down by the expectations of others but rather one that he would have to create by hand. Neither Light nor Dark. Neither Jedi nor Sith. A Gray Path … for a Gray Knight.

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**A/N:** I always felt a little bit disappointed with _Revenge of the Sith._ It felt predictable cause I knew what was going to happen. But still, Anakin's Fall to the Dark Side seemed a bit … forced to me. I felt that there needed to be some explanations as to why he did what he did and the answer was the Sidious was tampering with his mind. I also did not get that whole "Chosen One" and "destined to bring Balance to the Force" thing that they introduced way back in _The Phantom Menace_. His fall and leading the extermination of the Jedi nor his later acts of killing the Emperor in _Return of the Jedi_ just didn't seem to be all that balanced to me, but maybe that's just me.

Vote in my poll at the top of my page if you want to see this story continued!


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